


and i can feel it all

by TheQueenInTheNorth



Series: lou's marvel fluff bingo [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Fluff, Pre-Relationship, Sharing a Bed, or at least as fluff as convos with former killer robots get
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-21 16:34:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18706135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueenInTheNorth/pseuds/TheQueenInTheNorth
Summary: May thinks that now that Aida is human, they might aswell try reasoning with her - even if she has to join her in her cell to do it.





	and i can feel it all

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lalalyds2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalalyds2/gifts).



> for Lydia, who put the notion of this ship in my head :P

“I should be in there, too,”Fitz says, staring into the containment room.

May doesn’t take her eyes of the woman - robot - whatever she is now.“You’re the last person that should be talking to her right now.”

She purposefully misunderstands his meaning. Coldhearted as it might seem, now isn’t a practical time to address his trauma, his guilt. She’s ignoring her own, too.

He starts to say something but May sees Aida stir and makes a quick decision. The door slides closed behind her before the team can protest and now it’s too late to open it again. Aida is awake.

She’s blinking at May, her confused expression almost childlike. It’s probably the first time she feels confusion. Her brow furrows a little more, as if she’s testing out the new sentiment. Then she asks,“Where’s Leopold?”

“You eat now, right?”May asks instead of acknowledging the question, tossing a nutrition bar towards the other woman.

Aida catches it, squeezing a little too hard, the plastic crinkling loudly in the otherwise silent room, then carefully tears the wrapper open. She looks from the bar back to May.

May pulls out a second bar for herself.“Go on, you must be hungry. Or maybe not? How much do you feel?”

“Everything,”Aida says. It’s haughty and timid at the same time, somehow.“I feel everything. I think I might be hungry, yes.” She eyes the bar suspiciously.“How do I know you didn’t do anything to it?”

May extends her own bar, despite having taken a bite from it already.“Wanna swap?”

Aida gets up and just close enough to snatch the bar, holding the other out to May.“I’ll be very cross with you if that’s a double bluff. I can be cross now, you know.”

“Fair enough,”May says and bites into the untouched bar.

Aida nibbles on the one she’s holding now, then looks back at the package.“I think I like cranberry. It tastes - well, I can taste it.”

“You don’t have to like something just because it’s the first thing you come across,”May says casually.

By the way Aida’s head snaps up, she caught the implication. She takes another bite of her nutrition bar. She chews slowly, very deliberately. Then she fixes May with an intense stare.“Where is Leopold?”

“He prefers Fitz, actually.” May keeps her voice as even as possible.“Can we sit down?”

They do, on opposite ends of the bed. Aida flexes her fingers, a few sparks dancing at her fingertips, but then settles her hands in her lap, still clutching the bar.“Why is Leop- why is Fitz not here?”

“I thought it would be best for us to have a talk first,”May says.“You must be feeling a lot of stuff right now and I figure it might be a little overwhelming.”

“You still think I’m a robot,”Aida accuses. The sparks are back but her hands stay where they are.“You think I’m feeling things wrong.”

“I don’t.” May hesitates, then reaches out and brushes her fingers against Aida’s wrist.“Hey, it’s okay. It’s all new. It’s okay to be confused.”

“I’m not confused.” She doesn’t shake May’s hand off. The sparks peter out.“I’m human now. I want Fitz here. I love Fitz.”

“Not all positive feelings are love,”May says. Her heart is hammering against her ribs, her mouth is dry. She manages to sound like Aida couldn’t kill her in seconds.“And not all love is romantic.”

Aida glares at her.“I know what I feel.”

May smiles at her a little sadly.“You don’t. You really don’t. Because you’re human and human emotions are so complex we don’t understand them half the time.”

“I’m human,”Aida repeats. Slowly, ever so slowly, her lips quirk into a smile.

They finish their nutrition bars in silence.

“Cranberry’s only okay,”Aida says finally.“I’d like to try some other things, I think.”

 

They can’t let her out of containment yet, of course.

Aida is understanding, mostly.“You’ll stay, too, won’t you?”

May nods, knowing full well the team would be against the decision. But opening the door is too much of a risk, anyway.“If you don’t mind sleeping in shifts?”

Aida looks at the bed thoughtfully.“It looks big enough for two. You look tired. I think I feel tired.”

“You look tired, too,”May says. It slips out before she can weigh the words. It’s just suddenly so apparent to her that she speaks without thought, surprised by how utterly, undeniably human the woman before her is, with her fiddling fingers and tired eyes and hunched shoulders.

Aida positively lights up at that.“Thank you, Melinda.”

May freezes a little. Barely anyone calls her that.

“Or do you prefer May?”Aida asks.

“Melinda’s fine. And the bed’s fine, too.”

She doesn’t want to argue. Refusing to share the bed would be as good as admitting she doesn’t trust Aida. And anyway, better to sleep at the same time than leave Aida awake alone, to ponder on her new, overwhelming feelings.

They settle into the cot, their arms brushing a little. Aida shifts around, making soft tutting sounds, then beams at May.“I’m uncomfortable.”

May chuckles at her delight with the new sensation, even if it is not a pleasant one.“Try lying on your side. A lot of people fall asleep on their sides.”

Aida follows the advice though May hadn’t expected her to face her.

“Good night, then,”Aida says and closes her eyes, screwing them shut like a toddler feigning sleep.

May takes in the swing of her lips, her sharp cheekbones, and the concentrated furrow at the bridge of her nose. She brushes a finger against it.“Relax. You won’t fall asleep just by concentrating on it.”

Aida blinks at her, blushing a little, then closes her eyes more naturally.“So I just lay there until I fall asleep?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“Huh.” A few moments pass, then Aida opens one eye to check if May is still awake.“I think I know what being bored feels like now, Melinda.”

May grins.“I usually think about what I want for lunch the next day. Keeps me occupied until I conk out.”

She doesn’t feel the need to point out she does that only on the very rare nights where there is nothing to worry about. Aida accepts her claim without question.

“Not cranberries,”she mumbles, and then falls silent.

May keeps her own eyes open until Aida’s breathing becomes slow and even, then she lets herself drift off, too.

 

She wakes up basically wrapped around Aida. It takes her a moment to register where she is - and more importantly, who she is with - and then she tries to untangle herself carefully, so as not to wake the other woman.

Fingers close around her wrist gently, holding her in place.

“I like how this feels,”Aida says.“You’re warm. It’s nice.” Her grip loosens.“Unless it isn’t nice for you?”

“It’s nice,”May admits. She hasn’t held anyone like this since - god, she doesn’t even want to think about it. She pushes it all away by focussing on trying to place just what Aida's hair smells like. Maybe coconut, she thinks, and yawns.“We should get some more sleep.”

“Alright.” Aida shifts so she’s pressed even closer, letting out a content sigh.“I want to try pasta for lunch. I still have to decide what with.”


End file.
